EverQuest, Sony's wildly popular but controversial online video game, is the subject of Ethics Awareness Week at Eastern Kentucky University Nov. 4-8.

Business classes throughout EKU's College of Business and Technology will consider the game and Sony's response to complaints about its addictive nature as a case study in ethics and social responsibility issues.

Highlighting the week will be an Oxford-style debate Tuesday, Nov. 5 from 6 to 7 p.m. in the Clark Room of Wallace Building. Dr. Ron Messerich, chair of EKU's Department of Philosophy and Religion, and Dr. Rich Robinson, professor of finance and director of EKU's MBA program, will discuss the game from the standpoints of corporate and personal responsibility.

Sony Online Entertainment introduced EverQuest in 1998 as an online virtual reality game, to be played on PlayStation 2 or a personal computer. The game is similar to Dungeons and Dragons - players attempt to capture treasures, earn points and slay monsters. Because players generally attempt to form "guilds," or teams, the pressure builds for players to continue to play the game and not log off.

About 450,000 registered gamers pay $12.95 per month to play EverQuest. Thanks also to a continuous line of expansion packs, the product generates approximately $5 million a month for Sony.

When 21-year-old Shawn Woolley committed suicide in 2001, Liz Woolley blamed her son's addiction to the game. She told media that Shawn devoted 12 hours a day to the game and was found slumped over the computer still facing the screen of the online game.

The death triggered numerous national news stories about the suicide and issues of addiction and obsession. Woolley's attorney claims the game is designed to be "as addictive as possible" and should carry a warning label. Sony officials have declined comment.

"The case touches on just about every aspect of our business program," said Dr. Judy Spain, an assistant professor in the Department of Management, Marketing and Administrative Communication and chair of the Ethics Awareness Week Committee. "We want our students to look at ethics from all different perspectives and to understand that ethics can be a component of any business decision and that most business decisions are cross-functional."

The case will be considered by all EKU business students - from a freshman academic orientation class to a capstone course for graduating seniors. Students in the Legal and Ethical Environments of Business course will write papers on the topic, with the top three entries earning prizes.

Spain has little reason to doubt the focus on EverQuest will stimulate students' interest in ethics. After all, she pointed out, several of her students are "addicted" to the game.

None, she added, will be required to play the game to complete any class assignment.